The Fellowship of the Four Fandoms
by AgeofDrag0ns
Summary: Jeremy Fitzgerald, finally free from the nightmare that was Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, has taken on what might be his most challenging task yet: GMing a game for four children who have never played a Tabletop RPG before. With a new game that just came out a few months ago that he knows very little about.
1. Chapter 1

"Ok, you can do this," Jeremy Fitzgerald stares at himself in the clear mirror of the bathroom. His smooth angular face is reflected against the white tiles of the room. A stray lock falls out of his blonde, scruffy hair. He pushes it back into his head and continues to look himself dead in the eyes.

He takes a deep breath in, holds it for two minutes and lets it out slowly, "Calm down, Jeremy. You can do this. This will be these kids first time playing a Tabletop RPG and it's your job to make sure they have a good time."

As if on cue, Jeremy hears Mike Schmidt, his best friend, talking to one of the four children he is talking about. Judging by the light and friendly voice, it's Ib, the little girl with the red dress. Jeremy listens as Mike gets all of them to laugh by telling them a joke of some sort. A smile crosses his face. Mike always has been better with kids then he was.

He looks back over at the mirror, face set as determined as he can make it. After a few minutes though, he lets it fall out with a sigh.

The bathroom door opens with a small squeaking noise. Mike walks in waving behind him, "Have fun you kids. And remember 'Me casa es su casa'. If you get hungry, thirsty, or anything just ask for it and Uncle Mike will get it for ya." He closes the door to childish giggles from his audience.

He sees Jeremy, the bigger man patting him on the back with one hand, "I got them all warmed up for you Jere. Good luck, man!"

"Y-yeah, thanks," Jeremy says, unenthusiastically.

Mike raises an eyebrow, "What's wrong, dude? Nervous?"

"No," Mike stares at the younger man until he gives in, "Well, y-yes. It's just….I've played tabletop roleplaying games before. I've run a few DnD campaigns, I've made my share of PCs, done my share of cool stuff, you've even gamed with me a few times!"

Mike smiles, nodding along, "Yeah that's true. Though it's not my cup of tea I can see why you like this kind of shit, Jere. It can be pretty fun."

"Exactly! You were a complete newbie to Tabletop and I was able to at least get you interested in it. But the thing is, you're a grown man Mike. If I'm GMing I can tell all kinds stories and throw things at you that you can take in stride. My current group though—"

"Are a bunch of little kids who haven't played one of these games before."

Jeremy nods, hands going to his head, "And that's what's making me nervous. How much should I pull back when it comes to the 'Mature Rating' on my game? Should I make it dark? Light-hearted? How should I challenge their characters? Should it focus on physical combat or social combat? Not just that but look at this!" Jeremy takes out the tablet bought using the money from suing Fazbear's Entertainment. Turns out, having video evidence of putting your employees in actual physical danger does wonders for a court case.

He flips through the tablet until he gets to his Adobe PDF app. There he opens up a book entitled "Fellowship: A Tabletop Adventure Game." He flips through some of the pages, "This game just came out a couple of months ago and not a lot of people have played or know much about it. Couple that with how they use a hacked version of the 'Apocalypse System' and you've got a unique gem of a game."

Mike nods while looking in the mirror and checking his five-o'clock shadow, "Ok. So what's the problem?"

Jeremy puts the tablet down, "I've never used that system before! I'm completely out of my element! Powered by the Apocalypse Games are made so that GMs can just throw a session together without having to do any prep work."

Mike nods along, "That sounds pretty good."

"No it isn't!" Jeremy shouts, then puts his hands on his mouth when he realizes that he said it outloud. The two friends glance at the door, waiting in case anyone heard them. After a few seconds of silence, Jeremy continues, "I'm all about prep work. Sure most TRPGs suggest GMs be able to make things up on the fly, but in this game it's almost required. I've never had to improvise that much before. I've always had _some_ kind of plan ready for any occasion. What do I do if I mess up? If I throw something at them they're not ready for? What if—"

Jeremy's ramblings are stopped when Mike slightly slaps the man across the face. Jeremy looks up his old friend who is smiling, "You worry too much man. Just go out there and do your best. I'm sure the kids will love whatever it is you come up with."

Jeremy looks at the tiled floor, "Th-th-thanks. But what if—"

The older night guard's hands come down gently on Jeremy's shoulders. The friends look each other straight in the eyes. Mike speaks with total conviction, "Don't doubt yourself. Be confidant. Now go out there and give these tikes a game to remember."

Mike lets his friend go with a appreciative slap on the back. Jeremy stares at the floor for a bit longer, before drawing in a breath, puffing out his chest, and walking out the door to the dining room, tablet held firmly in his hand.

* * *

Jeremy peaks his head around the corner. His gaze settles on the dining room table, currently taken up by the four children he'll be in charge of today.

The two sitting on the right side of the table were the girls Ib and Mary. Their guardian said that they were sisters, and Jeremy was very much inclined to believe the guy. Though he's been told that Mary is adopted, the both of them have very similar features. The same height, same round faces, same length blonde (Mary) and brunette hair (Ib). Even their dresses were very similar, both being the same length, only difference being the color palette. Ib's was red and white while Mary's was mostly green.

The real differences, Jeremy found out, were in their personalities. Ib was the mature one of the two, sitting quietly with her hands in her lap. Her playbook (Apocalypse World version of a Character Sheet) was placed neatly in front of her, while she smiled at Mary.

Mary by contrast, was a whirlwind of activity. Jeremy heard her constantly asking Ib what she thought was gonna happen in the game, before moving on to the color of the walls, before taking out some candy she brought with her and eating it. Jeremy sighed. She might be a difficult one to keep engaged.

Across from them sat Frisk and his brother Asriel. Now this time Jeremy could tell that the adopted sibling was Frisk. How? Because Asriel was a humanoid goat creature. While Jeremy was surprised about that at first, it didn't really bothered him much. He has seen stranger after all. He involuntarily shivers at the memories at Fazbears.

After spending sometime with them, Jeremy was able to discover a bit about the two kids. Asriel was the oldest, and he was obviously the one to who got Frisk interested in this game. Jeremy could tell, because he had a Session Zero where he pitched the game to all of the kids while they made their characters. When he got to the part about how they have the final say on the entire history of their people, that their characters can look like however they want, and that they can form bonds with just about anybody, the goat kid literally squeed in excitement.

Jeremy can already see him as the most into this game. He was wearing some kind of robe that fell all the way down to his flat feet. His paws were on the table, while his head and wide excited eyes glanced around looking for Jeremy.

Frisk though….that one is hard to read. The kid is nice enough. he's become fast friends with everyone at the table and is obviously very enthused about this game. However he's kind of...eccentric. He's openly flirted with Ib, Mary, Asriel, Mike and Jeremy all on separate occasions. And not as a joke. He was completely serious with everything that he said. That was strange in and of itself, but then he decided that his character would be androgynous. There's nothing wrong with that, it just seemed a bit odd to Jeremy that a first time TRPG player would want to play a character that no one can tell is a boy or girl.

Frisk is sitting next to Asriel, looking over the Cheat Sheet Jeremy had printed out to help them with the game when they're not sure what to do. His eyes are closed, but Jeremy knew that kid could see as well as anybody at that table.

The table itself was brown mahagony wood, and had cost both Jeremy and Mike a pretty penny to get. In the center stood the map of the world of Atlas which would be their fantasy setting for this game. Along with that were four small containers each with four six sided dice inside of them. Since Apocalypse Games only ever use six sided dice, this should be enough for everyone. Finally, at the front of the table, his seat stood vigil with his Overlord Playbook waiting for him.

Jeremy ducks back into the corner.

He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath in, then lets it out.

He opens up his eyes, steps out into the dining room with as much swagger as he can gather into his walk.

He shouldn't be that worried.

After all, they are just innocent little kids.

Right?


	2. IntroductionA New Day

Jeremy opened the door with his head held as high as he could manage, tablet underneath his arm, shirt as pressed as he could make it, and pants straighter than a razor. He walked all the way over to the sofa where his Overlord playbook awaited him. His shoes made no noise even as he unconsciously scuffed them along the floor. It didn't take long for him to get to the sofa, turn around, sit down with a soft squeak from the cushions. He gazed upon the four children at the table, opened his mouth…

...And realized that he completely forget everything he was going to say.

Panic set in, his mouth closing as quickly as he opened it. His eyes started darting around the room to hopefully find something that can work as a distraction or to get him back on track. Unfortunately, constantly living in a poor apartment like this has caused him to become desensitized to anything that would cause a normal home owner to walk out with disgust. Anything that could possibly serve as a conversation starter was either too mundane, or too much for four children to hear about. He still doesn't know why the landlord continues to check if they're still alive once a month.

At Jeremy's silence, the children give each other looks of confusion. Mary starts to giggle, either from enjoying the former Night Guard's dismay or just to fill up the silence with something. Jeremy took it as the former and knew he had to do something or he'd lose them before he even had them. There's gotta be something he can talk about!

He feels sweat start forming on his brow until a light bulb goes off in his head. Regaining his composure, Jeremy places his hands on the table. With a smile he says, "So, Adventurers...,"

All of the children's head snap towards the lone adult in the room. Their eyes are firmly set upon Jeremy's next words. He continues, "Before we begin this Grand Epic, does any have any questions?"

As he expected, four tiny arms go up at the same time. Mary is holding hers up while slightly bouncing in her seat. In contrast, everyone else is sitting tight with Ib giving Jeremy an apologetic look for Mary's actions.

Knowing this would happen, Jeremy gives Mary the go ahead. She pumps her fist while everyone else's hands go down. In a high pitched, bubbly voice she ask, "What are we doing again?"

Ib looks apologetic again, but Jeremy anticipated this. He had plenty of experience with hyperactive players who needed constant stimulation else they completely lose interest in the game. They were a difficult to handle, but Jeremy had an advantage: Mary is a child.

Jeremy indicates the table with a simple wave of his hand, "We're going to be playing a Tabletop Roleplaying Game, specifically a game called of it like a game of pretend, but with ways to make it fair for everyone and more interesting."

Ib raises her hand to talk next, Jeremy nodding to let her know she can speak. Unlike her sister, Ib's voice is much quieter and more reserved when she speaks, "Is that why you asked us to fill out these, um," she picks up the paper in front of her to look at it. She squints her eyes to see the word she's looking for, "Play...books?"

"That's right, Ib. Each of those books represents the characters you all have created and will play as for this game," Jeremy explains. Ib nods along with what he's saying.

As Mary's eyes her Playbook again, Asriel's hand comes up. Jeremy nods and the kid smiles, "These four boxes are our Stats, right? They represent how good we are at doing things like swimming and jumping?"

Jeremy smiles wider at the boy, "Correct, Asriel. Have you done something like this before?"

Asriel looks down at the ground nervously, "N-no, I just...ask Alphys about some of this stuff before I came." He's still smiling, which means Jeremy has found a kindred spirit.

The adult continues, "Like I said, Asriel is right. There are four Stats that everyone has on their Playbooks. Blood represents loyalty, passion, and ferocity, Courage is your determination, will, and drive, Grace is your cunning, finesse, and skill, Sense is your intelligence, planning, and cleverness, and Wisdom is your empathy, emotion, and worldliness. However, Asriel has a fifth Stat called Doom."

"What? Why does he get an extra one?" Mary says looking up from her paper.

Asriel explains, "Because I'm the Harbinger. Doom represents my magical abilities and connections to Fate and prophecy."

Mary cocks her head in confusion so Frisk, in his surprisingly soothing yet confident voice, says, "Basically, Asriel can do magic and see the future."

Asriel frowns sadly, "Alas such power comes at a price. I can't easily relate to anyone and can only ever form one Bond with anyone, and they can only from one Bond with me. A Harbinger's existence is not an easy one." Frisk places a hand on his step brother's shoulder in sympathy, causing the kid to perk up in his seat.

Jeremy stares at Asriel with eyes wide, "That was amazing, Asriel. I could hardly tell if you were character or not." The boy places a hand on the back of his head and laughs nervously at the praise. Jeremy turns towards Frisk, "What about you, Frisk? I think I saw you raise your hand?"

"Oh, I was just wondering how Bonds worked," the boy lifts up his Playbook and points at what he means, "You told us to leave them blank, but everything I've seen makes them out to be very important."

"Correct, Frisk," Jeremy says turning his gaze to the whole table, "And to answer that question, I am going to have to ask everyone to give me their attention as I explain what this Grand Adventure is all about.

The children turn their eyes towards Jeremy, the sound of ruffling clothes following. Jeremy takes a deep breathe summoning his best narrator voice. Then he speaks, "This is Fellowship. It is a game where the entire world is in peril. A terrible foe known as the Overlord has come to the peaceful World of Atlas. With their innumerable horde of evil creatures, they plan to destroy everything and everyone who dares to stand before them. If something isn't done, Atlas is doomed.

Jeremy goes quiet to gauge everyone's reactions. They are all watching him with rapt attention. Mary is holding Ib's hand, the two sisters sharing the feeling of dread conveyed through his words. In contrast, both Asriel and Frisk remain impassive but their eyes are ready and determined. They understand the stakes, but don't feel threatened by the task in front of them at all. /p

Jeremy continues, "However, all is not lost. Four Champions, each representing the best their race can offer, have come together to stop the Overlord before they can accomplish their horrid plot. Though they may be outnumbered, they have many things the Overlord does not. Their courage, their drive, their strong sense of right, and most importantly, the unwavering Bonds friendship between each other and the rest of Atlas. They are the only ones who can stop the Overlord. It will not be easy, but these four must rise to the challenge to save their world have eternal despair. You are these four Champions. You are the last hope Atlas has. You are The Fellowship."

* * *

Mike smiles, stepping away from the door as his pal's voice starts returns to its normal caliber. That was one of the first things Mike took away from when he last played an RPG with Jeremy; the guy knew how to throw his voice.

Mike reached into his right pants pocket and took out his lighter. He couldn't remember when he had it, where he bought it from, or even how much he paid for it. All he remembered was that he'd had the thing ever since he started the job watching those killer robots. Anything before that was blacked out by his mind. Probably something bad then, he didn't exactly have a "clean" past.

He reached into his shirt pocket with his other hand and took out a cigarette. He placed the white poison in his mouth while flicking the ignition on the lighter. As his feet hit the stairs leading down to the ground floor of the complex, the flame came alive in his palm. The edge of the cigarette was soon smoldering. He put the fire out, placed the lighter back in his pocket, and let out a large puff of smoke the moment he stepped out into the warm blue sky.

With a sigh, he reached into his left pants pocket and took out the sheet of paper with the address written on it. He brought it up to his eyes and gave it one last look to commit it to memory.

Hemlock Museum, 1398 Henderson Drive.

Mike had seen their "Help Wanted" ad in the newspaper yesterday. While they didn't put any specifics in the column, but they did say they were offering at least eight bucks an hour. Already offering more than his previous "job". A sneer crossed his face as he thought back to that….place.

Mike shook his head and started heading down the sidewalk. He and Jeremy had scouted out the root to this place already. He should be able to get back home by the time Jeremy's finished with the kids. He's doing his part, it's time for Mike to do his.

With another puff on his cigarette, Mike soon blended into the mass of people walking to and from work on the sidewalk.

And somewhere behind him, a black, suede shoe stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the apartment complex.


	3. Meeting the FellowshipOverlord

"And that's it," Jeremy claps his hands together, "Does everyone have their Bonds written down? And have you all formed at least a bit of an idea of your history together?" All of the children nod their heads while placing their pencils down on the table. Ib and Frisk were smiling with the same calmness they had since they were dropped off. Asriel was busy going over his sheet one last time, counting off on his fingers as he did. Mary, on the other hand, was bouncing up and down again. The wild excitement was evident on her face as she waited for Jeremy to continue. "Well then, why don't we go ahead and intro—"

Before Jeremy was able to finish, Mary already had her paper up and ready to read it. "I'll go first!" she proudly exclaimed.

Her mouth had just opened when Ib placed a hand on her arm, "Settle down, Mary. Why don't we see if Frisk or Asriel want to tell us about their characters first?

Mary seemed ready to argue, but merely huffed and dropped back down onto her seat. Ib looked towards Frisk and nodded, "Go ahead, we'll wait."

"You are as kind as you are pretty, Ib," Frisk does a mock bow which makes Ib giggle with a hand in front of her mouth. Jeremy sees Mary scowl towards the boy, who doesn't notice. Instead Frisk says, "But, if it is alright with you, I shall introduce myself, last.". He gestures for his stepbrother to begin.

With a nod, Asriel begins by lowering his voice until it reaches the same narrating cantor that Jeremy's did, "I am, Albus the Greyblossom is one of the few remaining angels of Atlas. I stand tall with silver hair that goes all the way down to the small of my back. My robes are a spectacular combination of colors that change depending on the area I reside in. They go all the way down to my ankles, with a heavy hood that I only ever let down around those I trust. It makes me look scary, but I underneath I have the kindest, multi-colored eyes in the land.

Mary scoffs, softly enough to be noticed but not loud enough for Jeremy or Ib to hear. Asriel ignores her as he continues, "With me, I bring a staff covered in runes that will allow my companions and I to travel safely through any land. With my beautiful white and blue pegasus, Ali, my magical prowess, and my prophetic visions, I shall protect the land of Atlas from all who threaten her." He puts down his paper and looks towards Ib, "Do you want to go next, Ib?

Ib nods and picks up her own book to read from, "My name, is Arwen the Brave, Princess and Heir to my fallen kingdom. My people were once great scions of Atlas, but now they are all gone. I am the last of their noble line and I carry myself as such. I wear a normal, leather combat uniform with a forever determined look in my red eyes.

Twin "Oohs" come from Mary and Frisk at Ib's description. The girl continues, "I bring along some food and healing supplies, my warhorse Dane, and my families legendary sword. If we ever require a place to stay there is still one last manor filled with those who still serve my family even after all this time. I also carry a longbow, funds and fine food if we need it, and my symbol of royalty that proves my lineage."

Mary claps when Ib finishes her description. Her sister blushes at the praise, turning towards Frisk. She asks if he wants to go next, but he waves his hand towards Mary, "It would be rude of me to not allow the ladies to introduce themselves before me."

Before Ib can protest, Mary grabs up her playbook. Cutting her eyes at Asriel, she adopts a regal posture and tone before speaking, "I am the beautiful, wonderful, fantastic, Tanis, the Lady of Light. I am one of the great elves of Atlas who live in the seas that reach around the world. I stand with a wi-wil-wi…. Ib, what's this word?"

Mary holds her paper near Ib, who leans over and follows her sister's finger to the word. Ib squints before turning over to Jeremy, "Mr. Fitzgerald, how do you say this?"

Jeremy leans over to assist the two girls. He smiles and leans back, "That's 'willowy', Ib. It means very tall, thin, and athletic. Think of someone like… like…"

"Like Gary?" Ib perks up at the thought of her caretaker. She sits up straighter and her eyes shine a bit brighter.

Jeremy chuckles and nods, "Yeah, like Gary. Though he's more skinny than thin if you ask me. Go ahead and continue, Mary,"

The blond-haired girl nods and turns back to her book, "Willowy body with a fancy cloak that reaches my ankles. My long hair covers my piercing blue eyes and my clothes are green with blue tinges. I bring food, my bow, a sword, a knife, and a ring that signifies that I am in a secret group who all wear the same ring. I can show mine to them and they'll know who I am. Lastly, I have an amazing Unicorn named Uni who travels with me."

Frisk and Ib clap for Mary while Asriel nods, "Sounds pretty good, Mary. If a bit simplistic."

"Hey," Mary frowns while placing her paper down, "that means you don't like it, right?"

The goat boy holds up his hands placatingly, "No, no. I was just saying that its…. nothing. Nevermind. It's a great character I can't wait to play with you."

Mary's frown remains, and the table gets tense. Before things get worse, Frisk speaks up, "It's my turn, right Mr. Fitzgerald?"

"Hm? Oh yes, yes, it is Frisk," Jeremy places down his pencil as he turns towards the boy, "So who is your character?"

"Nobody, really," Frisk starts while picking up his Playbook, "I am the Squire after all. I don't have a people to call my own. I'm no champion, I'm no hero, I'm not even supposed to be here really. But I am, and I'm gonna make the most of it. I'll make sure everyone here comes home safe and sound. My name is Arthur Pip. I stand with short hair that only reaches down to my determined and set eyes. My clothes are those of a peasant that perfectly compliment my body.

The entire table remains silent as Frisk continues, "I have brought with me more rations of food, a simple sword, some under armor to protect myself, some traveler's gear, and my luck of the devil." As Frisk finishes, the entire table is quite for a good minute.

Asriel is the first to break the silence, as he places a hand in front of his mouth, "Wow, Frisk. I expected you to be good at this, but not that good. You sounded totally in character."

The dark-skinned boy places a hand on the back of his neck, "Really? I didn't really think about that. It just kind of… happened."

"Asriel's right," Ib says while nodding, "That was amazing. I thought you were a totally different person there."

"Ib!" Mary says looking at her sister with puppy dog eyes, "You're not saying it was better than my character, right?"

Ib pats her sister on the head to reassure her, "Of course not, Mary. Yours was just as good." The blonde bounces at the praise.

Jeremy lets the table calm down before speaking, "Now that almost all the characters have been introduced, we're just about ready to begin."

Asriel's ears perk up in confusion, "Almost? Is there one more player coming?"

"Well, sort of," Jeremy gets a sly smile on his face as he holds up his playbook. He makes sure everyone can see it very clearly, "You see, in-between taking down notes for your characters, I have been making one of my own. One just as important as yours, that plays two roles. One as the arbitrator and final say on the rules of the game. And the other…"

Jeremy turns his playbook around to the front so that all may see. Everyone at the table gasps in collective shock. Ib places a hand over her mouth, Frisk's eyes wrinkle a bit, Asriel looks from the paper to Jeremy, and Mary has her hands on the table ready to jump at Jeremy's face. On the paper in big, bold letters was the one word that represents everything that their characters opposed:

OVERLORD

"Is the role as the main villain," Jeremy places the book on the table. He starts to lower his voice, reaching deep into his stomach to make the voice of his character as he begins, "I am the Overlord. I have come to Atlas to gain the Ultimate Power, and I care not for who I must hurt to do so. My Hordes are endless and will descend upon the world of Atlas in a never-ending tide of flesh and bone. My armies will crush you. I will break your people asunder and send Atlas plummeting into a spiral of despair. I am Boros the Fallen King, and I know no fear.

Placing his playbook down on the table, Jeremy returns to his smiling countenance, "So, any questions?"

Four hands all raise up at the same time.

Jeremy laughs before pointing at Mary first as she seems the most agitated. She quickly shouts, "Why are you the bad guy, Mr. Jeremy!? You're not really a bad guy, are you? I ask cause that voice you did was really scary, and I thought that you might want to hurt us, and—"

"Calm down, Mary," Jeremy places his hands up to calm the girl down, "Calm down. I'm not really a 'bad guy'. I'm just playing pretend. I'm not really going to hurt you all." Inwardly, Jeremy is slightly glad that he was able to convince them so well. Ib's hand goes down, showing that her question was also answered.

Jeremy points towards Asriel next. The goat boy places his hands together on the table, "If you're both the GM, and the Main Bad Guy, then doesn't that mean we can't win?"

Jeremy shakes his head before he finishes, "No it does not, Asriel. I am well aware that, at the end of the day, I will lose. I'm the bad guy. I'm not supposed to win. But, that doesn't mean I have to make it easy for you. I will challenge you and hurt you, but I will not make things impossible for you."

Asriel nods and Frisk instantly pipes up with his question, "Do we have to… get rid of you?"

Knowing what Frisk means, Jeremy quickly answers, "No. All you have to do is beat me. How you do that, is down to you. And this system has plenty of ways for you to disable opponents without resorting to that.

Frisk keeps the wrinkles on his eyes for a bit longer. Then he relaxes and goes back into his original posture. Happy that he defused the conversation, Jeremy sighs and continues, "Now then, it's time we make the world…."


End file.
